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EUGENE, Ore. - The first horseless carriage arrived in Oregon in 1899.

Early motorists shared the dirt roads with horse-drawn buggies and pack animals.

"Essentially most of the roads in Oregon were simply improved paths," said Chris Bell, Oregon Department of Transportation historian. "In some cases they just dropped down logs, which is the term 'corduroy' roads."

So in 1913, out of the mud came the Oregon State Highway Department, later renamed ODOT in 1969.

Road building didn't pick up steam until another Oregon first in 1919: the gas tax. At 1 cent per gallon, Oregon was the first state in the United States to tax fuel. The tax caught on nationwide.

The tax revenue funded construction of the Pacific Highway, completed in 1926 and later named Highway 99.

Roads spread across the rugged Oregon landscape, spanning rivers and bays with bridges designed by Oregon's master builder, Conde McCullough.

"He was essentially the Frank Lloyd Wright of bridge building," Bell said. "He understood the design. He also understood engineering."